All templates
Branch meetings · membership · reps
Joining today probably won't cover a problem that started yesterday.
That is the first thing on this page rather than the last, because it is what people find out too late. If something has already happened at work, joining now is unlikely to get you represented for it — and we would rather tell you where to go instead than take your subscription.
Three doors — take the one that's true
Something is happening now
Read the next section before you join. There are free routes that do cover you today, and this page names them.
Thinking about joining
Cover starts when you join, not before. It is worth doing while nothing is wrong, which is exactly when nobody does it.
Already a member
Meeting times are below, and your rep's details come with your membership rather than having to be hunted for.
If something is already happening
Why joining now rarely helps — Almost every union has a waiting period for existing matters. It is not meanness — it is what keeps the subscription affordable for everybody else
Ask us anyway — You'll be told whether it is covered, in one answer, before you pay anything at all. If it isn't, we say so plainly
What does cover you today — Free advice services, the statutory route, and in a lot of cases a legal expenses policy you already have
That last one surprises people — Check your home insurance before paying anybody for advice. A great many policies include it and almost nobody knows they have it
Deadlines are short — Most employment claims have a strict time limit and it is shorter than people expect. Find that date first, before anything else
Join anyway if you want to — Plenty of people do — for what comes next rather than for what has happened. Just do it knowing which of the two you are buying
Ask us anyway — You'll be told whether it is covered, in one answer, before you pay anything at all. If it isn't, we say so plainly
What does cover you today — Free advice services, the statutory route, and in a lot of cases a legal expenses policy you already have
That last one surprises people — Check your home insurance before paying anybody for advice. A great many policies include it and almost nobody knows they have it
Deadlines are short — Most employment claims have a strict time limit and it is shorter than people expect. Find that date first, before anything else
Join anyway if you want to — Plenty of people do — for what comes next rather than for what has happened. Just do it knowing which of the two you are buying
What it costs
Standard
$14 a month
- Full representation from the day you join
- The branch, the meetings, the training
- Advice on work matters
- About forty-five pence a day
Reduced
$6 a month
- Part-time, low paid, or on leave
- Exactly the same representation
- No proof needed beyond telling us
- Goes back up only when you say so
Retired or student
$2 a month
- Keeps you in the branch and in the vote
- Advice, though not workplace representation
- The cheapest way to stay connected
- Most people who take this stay for years
If the cost is the thing stopping you, say so on the form. There is a rate below all of these. It isn't advertised because it isn't means-tested, and nobody is ever told who is on it.
Your employer is not told
Membership is confidential — Your employer is not notified when you join, and there is no list of members they can ask anybody for
The one exception — If you pay by deduction from wages, payroll necessarily knows. Pay by direct debit instead if that matters — same rate, same everything else
What a rep tells them — Only what you agree to, when you agree to it. Nothing is ever raised on your behalf without you saying so first
If you only want advice — You can talk to a rep about something without anything being raised at all. Most conversations end there and always have
Your details inside the union — The branch has them. They are not sold, not passed to a party, and not used for anything except union business
Leaving — One message and it stops. There is no exit interview and nobody rings up to ask you to reconsider
The one exception — If you pay by deduction from wages, payroll necessarily knows. Pay by direct debit instead if that matters — same rate, same everything else
What a rep tells them — Only what you agree to, when you agree to it. Nothing is ever raised on your behalf without you saying so first
If you only want advice — You can talk to a rep about something without anything being raised at all. Most conversations end there and always have
Your details inside the union — The branch has them. They are not sold, not passed to a party, and not used for anything except union business
Leaving — One message and it stops. There is no exit interview and nobody rings up to ask you to reconsider
Joining is not agreeing to strike
A strike needs a ballot — Members vote. There is no mechanism at all by which somebody is signed up to one by joining
Thresholds — A lawful ballot has turnout and majority requirements set in law rather than by the branch. Most ballots never reach them
If you vote against — You are still represented, in full, on everything. Nobody is treated differently for how they voted, and the vote is secret in any case
If there is one and you'd rather work — That decision is yours and it stays yours. You will not be reported, listed, or spoken to about it by this branch
What won't happen — A list of who did what. There isn't one and there never has been
What most of this actually is — Sick pay, rotas, pay bands, grievances and disciplinary meetings. Industrial action is the rarest thing a branch ever does
Thresholds — A lawful ballot has turnout and majority requirements set in law rather than by the branch. Most ballots never reach them
If you vote against — You are still represented, in full, on everything. Nobody is treated differently for how they voted, and the vote is secret in any case
If there is one and you'd rather work — That decision is yours and it stays yours. You will not be reported, listed, or spoken to about it by this branch
What won't happen — A list of who did what. There isn't one and there never has been
What most of this actually is — Sick pay, rotas, pay bands, grievances and disciplinary meetings. Industrial action is the rarest thing a branch ever does
Branch meetings
- Sun, Aug 23 · 5:28 AMBranch meeting — early shift friendly📍 The community centre, back room
The first ten minutes are open floor before the agenda starts. Anybody can raise anything and it does not have to be on the paper.
- Sun, Sep 20 · 5:28 AMBranch meeting — late shift friendly📍 The community centre, back room
The same meeting at a different time, so it isn't always the same shift that can't come. The alternating is deliberate.
The first ten minutes — Open floor, before the agenda. Anybody raises anything, and it does not have to have been submitted
Times alternate — Early and late, month about, so the same shift isn't permanently the one that can never attend
You don't have to speak — Most people never do. Turning up is the part that actually changes the numbers in the room
Bring somebody — Members can bring a colleague who is thinking about it. Nobody is asked to sign anything at the door
It finishes on time — Ninety minutes. A branch that runs over is a branch that loses everybody with children
If you can't come — Minutes go to every member, and anything you want raised can be sent by message beforehand
Times alternate — Early and late, month about, so the same shift isn't permanently the one that can never attend
You don't have to speak — Most people never do. Turning up is the part that actually changes the numbers in the room
Bring somebody — Members can bring a colleague who is thinking about it. Nobody is asked to sign anything at the door
It finishes on time — Ninety minutes. A branch that runs over is a branch that loses everybody with children
If you can't come — Minutes go to every member, and anything you want raised can be sent by message beforehand
Replace these with your own dates and set your own timezone before publishing.
What a rep can and can't do
What a rep does — Sits with you, knows the policy, writes things down, and makes sure the process is followed the way it is written
What a rep is not — A lawyer, and not your decision-maker. Reps are colleagues who did the training, usually in their own time
Who decides the outcome — The employer, and after that a tribunal or a court. Not the rep, and not the branch
What that means — Nobody here can promise you a result. Anybody who does is telling you something they cannot possibly know
What the process is worth — Time, a witness, and the policy applied properly. That is a great deal, and it is not the same thing as a guarantee
If a rep gets it wrong — Tell the branch secretary. There is a complaints route and it does not run through the rep it is about
What a rep is not — A lawyer, and not your decision-maker. Reps are colleagues who did the training, usually in their own time
Who decides the outcome — The employer, and after that a tribunal or a court. Not the rep, and not the branch
What that means — Nobody here can promise you a result. Anybody who does is telling you something they cannot possibly know
What the process is worth — Time, a witness, and the policy applied properly. That is a great deal, and it is not the same thing as a guarantee
If a rep gets it wrong — Tell the branch secretary. There is a complaints route and it does not run through the rep it is about
Join the branch
Cover starts on the day you join. If something is already happening at work, read the second section on this page first — we would rather tell you the truth about that than take a subscription off you.
Join the branch
"Tell me the difference first" is a real answer. The short version: deduction from wages means your employer's payroll department knows you're a member, and direct debit means nobody there does.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.